Florida Part 3 (1 more to go)

Day 3: June 3rd

After departing the RHEIN (report/pics here), the next stop on the Dry Tortugas tour was the iron hulled sailing ship the ARABY MAID in 215 fsw. A pretty little wreck that looks surprisingly (considering she’s been down since 1903) much like the ship she once was. The gaping wound from the collision that sank her in the port bow leaves little to the imagination as to what sank this ship. Marine life was plentiful including several very large Goliath grouper. Beautiful portholes line the lower deck, most of which are still in place with the brass storm covers clamped tight due to the effort required to extract them. I spent my second dive whacking on one and made little progress. I’m hoping Danny will finish the job on his trip next week 😉

ARABY MAID images

Day 4: June 4th

After a night of searching for a wreck with no luck, daybreak found us over the wreck of the U-2513. This advanced German U-boat was sunk as practice by the US Navy in 1951. A good number of the hedgehogs used to sink the sub still surround it on the seabed or can be seen in the wreck making this a more unique dive than most of the other subs I’ve dove.

From the U-2513 we again began the search for new numbers. Before we knew it Barney had us over a new wreck, and divers were scrambling to be among the first down. The bottom at 180 fsw was a bit murkier than the other sites we hit but you didn’t need great vis to tell we were on a trawler. As I descended, the net covered bow of the old shrimper rose up and I found Bill excitedly fondling the ships compass. The trawler appeared to be down for a while and was covered with nets. Despite it’s small size it was a very enjoyable dive!